78R11983 PAM-F
By: Callegari H.B. No. 2978
Substitute the following for H.B. No. 2978:
By: Callegari C.S.H.B. No. 2978
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to strategic partnership agreements between
municipalities and certain special districts.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 43.0751(a)(3), Local Government Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(3) "Strategic partnership agreement" means a written
agreement described by this section between a municipality and a
district [that provides terms and conditions under which services
will be provided and funded by the parties to the agreement and
under which the district will continue to exist for an extended
period of time if the land within the district is annexed for
limited or full purposes by the municipality].
SECTION 2. Sections 43.0751(d), (f), and (i), Local
Government Code, are amended to read as follows:
(d) Before the governing body of a municipality or a
district adopts a strategic partnership agreement, it shall conduct
two public hearings at which members of the public who wish to
present testimony or evidence regarding the proposed agreement
shall be given the opportunity to do so. Notice of public hearings
conducted by the governing body of a municipality under this
subsection shall be published in a newspaper of general circulation
in the municipality and in the district. The notice must be in the
format prescribed by Section 43.123(b) and must be published at
least once on or after the 20th day before each date. Notice of
public hearings conducted by the governing body of a district under
this subsection shall be given in accordance with the district's
notification procedures for other matters of public importance.
Any notice of a public hearing conducted under this subsection
shall contain a statement of the purpose of the hearing, the date,
time, and place of the hearing, and the location where copies of the
proposed agreement may be obtained prior to the hearing. The
governing bodies of a municipality and a district may conduct joint
public hearings under this subsection, provided that at least one
public hearing is conducted within the district. [A municipality
may combine the public hearings and notices required by this
subsection with the public hearings and notices required by Section
43.124.]
(f) A strategic partnership agreement may provide for the
following:
(1) limited-purpose annexation of the district on
terms acceptable to the municipality and the district [under the
provisions of Subchapter F] provided that:
(A) the district shall continue in existence
during the period of limited-purpose annexation; and
(B) Subchapter F does not apply to the
limited-purpose annexation under the agreement;
(2) limited-purpose annexation of a district located
in a county with a population of more than 3.3 million:
(A) only if the municipality does not require
services, permits, or inspections or impose fees for services,
permits, or inspections within the district; and
(B) provided that this subsection does not
prevent the municipality from providing services within the
district if the provision of services:
(i) is specified and agreed to in [such
amendments to the timing requirements of Sections 43.123(d)(2) and
43.127(b) as may be necessary or convenient to effectuate the
purposes of] the agreement;
(ii) is not solely the result of a
regulatory plan adopted by the municipality in connection with the
limited-purpose annexation of the district; and
(iii) is approved by the county in which the
district is located;
(3) payments by the municipality to the district for
services provided by the district;
(4) annexation of any commercial property in a
district for full purposes by the municipality, notwithstanding any
other provision of this code or the Water Code, except for the
obligation of the municipality to provide, directly or through
agreement with other units of government, full provision of
municipal services to annexed territory, in lieu of any annexation
of residential property or payment of any fee on residential
property in lieu of annexation of residential property in the
district authorized by this subsection;
(5) a full-purpose annexation provision on terms
acceptable to the municipality and the district [that specifies one
of the following:
[(A) the date on which the land included within
the district's boundaries shall be converted from the
municipality's limited-purpose jurisdiction to its full-purpose
jurisdiction, provided that such date shall not be later than 10
years after the effective date of the strategic partnership
agreement; or
[(B)(i) terms for payment of an annual fee to the
municipality by the district in lieu of full-purpose annexation,
the form in which each such payment must be tendered, a method of
calculating the fee, and the date by which each such payment must be
made; failure by a district to timely make an annual payment in lieu
of full-purpose annexation in the amount and form required by a
strategic partnership agreement shall be the only ground for
termination of the agreement with respect to annexation at the
option of the municipality;
[(ii) to determine a reasonable fee to be derived
from residential property in a district, the municipality or the
district may request a cost-of-service study by an independent
third party agreeable to both parties if cost-of-service data
prepared by the municipality is not acceptable. Both parties shall
be equally responsible for the cost of the study, which shall
include an evaluation of the estimated annual cost of providing
municipal services to the residential portion of the district over
the next 10 years and the estimated annual amount of ad valorem
taxes from residential property the municipality would receive on
full-purpose annexation of the district over the next 10 years. The
fee shall not exceed the estimated annual amount of residential ad
valorem taxes that would be derived by full-purpose annexation of
the district, less the estimated annual amount required to provide
municipal services to the residential property in the district if
annexed for full purposes. A fee determined through this
methodology is subject to renegotiation every 10 years at the
request of either party to the agreement following the same
procedure used to set the fee in the original agreement. This
methodology does not apply to fees from commercial property];
(6) conversion of the district to a limited district
including some or all of the land included within the boundaries of
the district, which conversion shall be effective on the
full-purpose annexation conversion date established under
Subdivision (5) [(5)(A)];
(7) agreements existing between districts and
governmental bodies and private providers of municipal services in
existence on the date a municipality evidences its intention by
adopting a resolution to negotiate for a strategic partnership
agreement with the district shall be continued and provision made
for modifications to such existing agreements; and
(8) such other lawful terms that the parties consider
appropriate.
(i) A [district that is negotiating for or that has adopted
a] strategic partnership agreement may provide that the district
shall not incur additional debt, liabilities, or obligations, to
construct additional utility facilities, or sell or otherwise
transfer property without prior approval of the municipality[,
which approval shall not be unreasonably withheld or delayed. An
action taken in violation of this subsection is void].
SECTION 3. (a) This Act takes effect immediately if it
receives a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each
house, as provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution.
If this Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate
effect, this Act takes effect September 1, 2003.
(b) A provision of a strategic partnership agreement
entered into before the effective date of this Act that does not
comply with Section 43.0751(f)(2), Local Government Code, as
amended by this Act, is not enforceable after the effective date of
this Act to the extent of the noncompliance.